A penny for your thoughts

The very thoughts that plague your mind, feelings that you’d rather be without and the induced behavior that plays on repeat inside your head. As you read this sentence, do some come to mind?

If so, what if there is a way to stop feeling the way you do, store all the “bad thoughts” that keep you awake at night in a container never to be opened again, and to always be your form of “Perfect”, would you take the chance? Even better, having some semblance of control over these?

Cognitive theory – introduced by Aaron Beck (Psychotherapist) in the 1960’s did just that. This theory focuses on how one’s perception could be an underlying factor behind how one feels and behave the way they do. Likewise, the other two influence the way we think too. Based on this theory, therapists undertake the task of helping clients understand the way their thoughts are sometimes distorted.

While the past issues that influences the current perception of the client is acknowledged; it is not concentrated on in cognitive therapy.

Different Forms of Cognitive therapy:

COGNITIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (Pioneered by D. Meichenbaum)

It is a talking therapy. It follows a pragmatic approach which helps one manage their problem by recognizing the thought/feeling/behavior that had a hand in resulting the problem.

Example case:

Let’s suppose Party A gets invited to a party. Party A, having been feeling bored for a while now instinctively goes on to press yes. But then hesitates, as they think of what this party might consist of and especially the people.

A now starts having negative thoughts such as how they might end up making a fool of themselves. This in turn gives rise to anxiousness and distress. Unable to battle these feelings, A chooses to not go.

Repetition of these events drives an individual to self-isolate themselves which later ends up in depression.

So, in CBT Party A can be helped by making them recognize their negative thoughts, break them and find a more positive way of thinking. Depending on the problem, the focus shifts to either Cognitive approach or Behavioral approach.

Goal of therapy: Unlearn unwanted reactions.

RATIONAL EMOTIVE BEHAVIOUR THERAPY (Pioneered by Albert Ellis)

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Notion behind REBT: Humans tend to gravitate towards certain beliefs that may be irrational. These in turn dictate our actions that in way or the other end up being self-destructive.

Examples: 

• Nice, sweet girls end up getting good husbands.
• Vaccines must not be administered.

In general, it follows the same principle as CBT but in comparison tends to be briefer. It differs from CBT on the following grounds:

• Philosophic: REBT addresses the philosophical reasons behind an emotional disturbance as well as the distorted cognitions (the focus of CBT). These are the ‘Musts’ and ‘Shoulds’ that cause the turmoil.
• Secondary disturbance: The anxious feelings that arise because you are anxious about feeling anxious. REBT spotlights on these disturbances that arise in individuals unlike CBT.
• Unconditional self-acceptance (USA): While CBT focuses on self-rating in a way to boost an individuals’ self-esteem, REBT proposes an elegant solution to the problem through USA.
• Helpful Negative Emotions: REBT encourages some appropriate helpful negative emotions that are not self-destructive and inappropriate depending on the situation.
• All anger inappropriate: While CBT appreciates some level of anger, REBT condemns anger entirely. This could be expressed as: Everyone must treat me well or they deserve to die. Although CEBT like REBT teaches individual assertiveness it fails to uproot the philosophical root of the anger.

Goal of therapy: Replace irrational thinking with rational thinking.

VIRTUAL REALITY THERAPY (Pioneered by Barbara O. Rothbaum and Larry F. Hodges)

Virtual reality is a self-created form of chosen reality. Therefore, it exists. – Joan Lowery Nixon

Fear, as the saying goes can be overcome by facing them. This form of therapy is induced to help the clients get exposed to what triggers their fears. It is generally administered for patients with phobias, anxiety and PTSD.

Applications

• Depression – Learn to practice self-compassion
• Addiction – Reduce craving for people in recovery
• Eating disorders – Improve body image
• Medical procedures – serves as a distraction during painful procedures
• Stroke- Helps survivors relearn motor skills
• Wheelchair users – practice getting around

Goal of therapy: Through exposure overcoming their fear/trauma.

Transactional Analysis (Pioneered by Eric Berne):

Wouldn’t you say you are quite adept at being a multifaceted chameleon of society? For, what are humans without their adaptive nature, right?

Eric Berne had used this very belief- Inspired by Freud’s theory of personality combined with Penfield’s groundbreaking experiments involving stimulation of specific brain area with electric currents, Berne developed his very own “Neo- and extra- Freudian” approach.

Notion behind TA: All individuals possess three ego states:

The Parent: Consist of recordings/images of the external events etched onto the child of ages 0-5 years. These are neither analyzed nor filtered but simply accepted.

Examples may include:

• Do not play with matches.
• Remember to say “please” and “thank you”

The Child: Represents the feelings/emotions felt by the individual, that are directly linked to external events observed by the child during the first five years.

Examples may include:

• I feel happy when Mom hugs me.
• Dad’s late night movie was pretty scary.

The Adult: Final ego state that serves as the data processing center which combines information from all the ego states and helps an individual arrive at a decision.

Goal of therapy: Are the adults truly the decisive, responsible sort as they should be? The answer to that is why the goal of this therapy is to gain and maintain autonomy by strengthening the adult state.

Conclusion:

Sometimes, all it takes is a different perspective for the hidden truth to come to light.